Fairy's Shelter
by DeltaWing13
Summary: Things go wrong when Anna Heartfilia attempts to activate the Eclipse Gate, but runs out of magic power! Natsu arrives on Tenrou Island, and meets Mavis and Zera. Together, this powerful trio will rewrite the entirety of Fairy Tail! Up for Adoption.
1. Prologue

**AN: So, this is my second story, hope you enjoy it! Also, check out my first one,** _Flames, to the Ends of Time_ **. Thanks for reading!**

..

 **July 7, X777**

 **? PoV**

Standing in front of a large circular doorway covered in magical runes, a Celestial Mage reread her ancestor's wishes.

' _My future descendants, I have something I must request of you. Though I cannot proceed into details, for fear that this may fall into the wrong hands, this is necessary. One day, the magic in the air will become dense, though this will be gradual. Once this happens, you must unlock the Eclipse Gate with the Twelve Zodiac Keys. They will know what to do.'_

Slowly, the young woman withdrew twelve golden keys from her pocket, clinking softly. 'I hope this works…' With that in mind, she summoned the twelve spirits she had become friends with over the years.

"Eclipse Gate, open!"

Gritting her teeth, she stood still, struggling against her rapidly depleting magic reserves. Five orbs, one red, one silver, one light gray, one white, and one black, appeared in the bright light within the gate. One by one, they shot past the ceiling and into the sky. As each one disappeared, her magic power diminished. Halfway through the last orb, the red one, she finally ran out of magic.

Keeling over, she collapsed onto the floor, and a spirit, Aquarius, rushed over.

"Layla! Layla, are you alright?"  
Slowly, her vision faded, as she closed her eyes.

..

 **July 7, X679**

 **Mavis PoV**

The young girl couldn't believe her eyes. Although most everyone here was cruel to her, this was the place she had lived her entire life. Now, it was being destroyed.

The attackers wore a cloak of dark blue, being led by a man whose name appeared to be Geoffrey. Explosions and flashing lights were quickly exchanged, as the invaders quickly came out on top.

Currently, Mavis was hiding in an abandoned building, alongside the person closest to her at the time, Zera. The brunette was coughing weakly, but Mavis was unaware of what was wrong. After all, the guild master hadn't allowed her formal education. This was ironic, as that was the very reason his daughter could very well be dieing right now.

Wringing her hands, she tried pumping her chest, which helped slightly, and checked her pulse. It was faint but still there. Looking through a crack, she tried to search for anyone who might be of help, to no avail. Everyone was either dead or had surrendered.

Suddenly, a bright sphere of red shimmered in the sky, though only she noticed. 'What is _that_?'

Her question was quickly answered, as the comet revealed itself as a young boy screaming at the top of his lungs.

"What the heck, Igneel?! If this is a joke, it is _NOT_ funny!" yelled the would-be comet as he hurtled down from the sky. 'Ah, well… I'll probably survive, this isn't the first time Igneel dropped me...'

Glancing up, Geoffrey took note of the pinkette cursing his luck, his eyes widening.

"Is this some kind of weird trump card?" he muttered. Looking at his troops, he told them, "Retreat! We don't know what it could do!"

Nodding, they quickly slit their captives' throats and proceeded onto their ships, setting sail just as the 'secret weapon' crashed into the dirt, kicking up a large dust cloud.

Coughing, Mavis waved away the dust and peered at where she saw him land. Sure enough a silhouette of the boy rose, rubbing his head.

"Well, _that_ was painful… I wake up and turns out I'm a few miles in the sky, what the heck? Where's Igneel, anyways?" complained Natsu, rubbing his _very_ sore head. Sniffing the air, he caught the smell of two people. One was nearly dead…

Rushing over, he pried open Mavis's hiding spot with his grin, startling the girl.

"Hey! I'm Natsu, who're you?"

..

 **This is the prologue, hope you enjoy! Also, Natsu is 7, while Mavis and Zera are 6. And yes, Zera will be saved. Just how, that'll be a secret. In case you're thinking Natsu knows healing magic, that is WRONG! Thanks for reading!**


	2. Medicine

**So, a reader suggested that I make this a Natsu x Mavis x Zera story, rather than a Natsu x Mavis. I think that's a pretty good idea, so I put up a poll for it. Be sure to check it out! Also, thanks for reading!**

..

 **July 7, X679**

 **Mavis PoV**

Mavis gazed up at the boy who had chased away the invaders, grinning widely as the sun reflected softly against his pink hair.

"Hey! I'm Natsu, who're you?"

Mavis blinked, failing to stop tears of both grief and relief, the dam breaking.

Panicking, the newly introduced Natsu wrung his hands, kneeling down beside her and putting a comforting hand on her back.

"Hey, you alright? Hey,-uh, what do I call you?" Natsu asked soothingly, sniffing the air without her noticing.

Stifling her sobs, Mavis looked at Natsu, who stopped his sniffing instantly. "Y-yes… My name is M-Mavis… Thank you for saving us…"

Natsu's nose crinkled up, his brows furrowing. "Us? So I was right, there's two people here… Where's the second one? They're almost dead…"

Gasping, Mavis scrambled over to Zera, whose pulse had lowered drastically. "What's wrong with her?!"

Sniffing the air, not bothering to conceal it, Natsu frowned. "There's blood. Dunno where from, though."

Mavis's mind raced, flipping through all the books she had read in secret, late at night. 'No visible wounds… Blood… Can it be?' Practically shouting, she told him hurriedly, "There's a spell, _Bleeding Drain_ , that causes loss of blood without injuring the target! The antidote is described in one of the books in the library!"

Together with her new… friend, she carefully moved Zera over to an old building not too far in the forest. Coughing at the dust sent into the air when they opened the door, Natsu rushed in, sniffing for books that had Mavis's scent on them, while Mavis followed her memory.

"Found it!"

Obviously, Mavis was the one that found the book, having traversed these corridors for years. Flipping through the pages, the blond found the one she needed just as Natsu returned.

"Well? What's the antidote?"

Sighing, Mavis looked sadly at the pinkette. "Thankfully, all these plants can be found on this island. Unfortunately, all four are… hard to find, to say the least," she finished, depressed. She was shocked when the boy started to grin, and angry. "What the heck? You think this is some kind of joke? Well, I don't!"

Placing his hand on her shoulder placatingly, Natsu grinned widely. "Don't worry, man! I grew up in the forest, I know how it works! Now, let me see what they are."

Mutely, Mavis handed him the list she had written, mulling over the contemplations of his statement.

Meanwhile, Natsu glanced at the paper, his smile reaching from ear to ear. Looking up, he dropped his mature facade, and grinned childishly at Mavis. "Well, I'll go get these. You take care of Zera!"

She smiled as she watched the boy run out the door, before moving over to Zera, checking her pulse once more.

..

 **Natsu PoV**

Dashing through the woods, Natsu recited the list in his head. 'Moondew, shiverthorn, silverdrop, and something called aspenbloom, huh. I've seen the first three, but never aspenbloom. Igneel mentioned it once, though. Said it smelled sweet, or something…'

Shrugging, he laughed at the irony that something Igneel had tried to teach him and thought had failed to do so would be of use. He always pretended to ignore him, in hopes that they'd move onto fighting, but had also taken in the information as soon as he realized they might be useful.

Soon enough, he had reached a spot where he smelled both shiverthorn and silverdrop, a arpet of white and blue laid out before him. 'Remember, Natsu, shiverthorn looks just like silverdrop, but are cold to the touch. They will never burn.'

Picking up several flowers, he confirmed which one was silverdrop with a whiff.

"Now, onto the fun part. **Fire Dragon's Roar**!"

Smiling, he picked up the last one standing. Two down, two to go.

..

Not long after, he had gotten moondew, and proceeded to follow the scent of 'something sweet'.

Strangely enough, this led him back to the library. Before he could leave, Mavis spotted him.

"Well? Do you have them?" she asked, jumping up and down with sparkles in her eyes.

Rubbing the back of his head, he opened his palm to reveal his findings. "Sorry, only three. I was told that aspenbloom smell sweet, so I followed the sweetest scent… and ended up back here. Dunno why, sorry."

Pondering why he ended up back here, Mavis shrugged. Then, she caught onto something. "Wait, scent? How?" she questioned, before shaking her head. "Wait, no, don't mind that. I know where aspenbloom is, I'll go get it. For now, the instructions say to ground them into a mixture. Can you get out a wooden bowl from the guild and start?"

Receiving a nod in confirmation, she beamed brightly at him, and sprinted off to her hidden sanctuary.

..

 **Mavis PoV**

Years ago, she had built herself a small treehouse, near some caves she had found. She stayed there whenever she got lonely, or wanted peace and quiet for reading. Not long after, she had picked up gardening. Determined to find the rarest flower, she had scoured both books and the island, until she found the aspenbloom. It smelled wonderful, and was golden yellow in color. Soon enough, they had multiplied into a small row she set beside her window.

Now, she dashed up and grabbed one and smiled reminiscently at the hard work she had spent growing these.

Sighing, she turned around and climbed down the ladder and took off, heading back to the library.

..

When she arrived, she discovered Natsu… planting the flowers in three stone bowls, a fourth one empty beside him.

Confused, she asked, "Natsu, what are you doing? I asked you to grind them."

Looking up Natsu tilted his head. "What do you mean? When you said to ground them, weren't you referring to planting them?"

Giggling, she crouched down next to him. "No, how would that make medicine? We need to mash them together. Here, like this."

Taking the fourth bowl, she gently moved the plants, and began grinding them.

'He's an interesting boy…'

..

 **Yay, done!**


	3. Awake

**AN: So, I guess this story is indeed going to be Natsu x Mavis x Zera. Oh, and I'm gonna make Natsu at a decent level of intelligence. That tends to happen if one hangs around with a genius, like Mavis, you know? So, please enjoy!**

..

 **July 7, X679**

 **Natsu PoV**

Sighing, Natsu put his hands behind his head and laid back, the wind ruffling his pink hair. He had left the young blond to grinding the potion, as there was only room for one person to work.

'Man, I hope this works…' he thought, rubbing his forehead worriedly.

Suddenly, he snapped up, startling Mavis, who had tried to sneak up behind him.

Grinning, he asked, "What's up? Did it work?"

Mavis shook her head tiredly. "It worked, but she's lost too much blood to judge her survival. At the least, she'll probably be in a coma for a few days."

She paused, hesitating to ask her question.

The pinkette noted this. Being as impulsive as he was, he did not hesitate to question it. "What's wrong, Mavis?"

Shooting him an irritated look, she replied, "I can ask my own questions, thank you very much. Now, we barely know each other. Why'd you help me?"

His smile only grew wider at that. Tapping his nose, he answered, "I had a hunch."

Confused as to why he had tapped his nose while saying that, Mavis recalled that he said he'd also 'smelled' his way back to the library. "Something sweet, eh?" she wondered aloud.

"You got it! I'm a dragonslayer, so I have really good smell and hearing. That's what Igneel told me, anyways," he answered, beaming.

This shocked Mavis. "What!? Dragons have been extinct for years, there's no way you were taught by one, assuming this 'Igneel' you were referring was."

Natsu tilted his head scratching his head. Shrugging, he joked, "I _did_ just fall out of the sky. Who knows, maybe it was time travel?"

Silence fell between the duo.

"Hey, you're not seriously conside-"

Dismissing him with a wave, the blond rubbed her chin in thought. She turned around and headed back to the library. "I'm going to see if I can look up anything about this. Take care of Zera, can you?"

Sighing, he headed in after her.

..

 **Mavis PoV**

Browsing through the books, she began piling up any that referred to time-space magic.

"Celestial Magic, the Lost Arc of Time, ReQuip, Teleportation Magic… That's all, in the records…" she muttered, her eyes skimming over the books. "Ooh, Illusion Magic! No, stay on task, stay on task."

Marking the page for later, she resumed her search. "Celestial Magic… just summoning, can't exist there. Lost Arc of Time… lost. ReQuip… getting armor. Teleporting Magic… teleportation. Nothing here, nothing at all!"

Sighing, she decided to do the second-best thing; learn Illusion Magic! Giggling, she returned to her prior book. Along the way, she noted another useful magic: Holy Magic. Filing it away, her eyes brightened up when she reached the page on Illusion Magic.

'My pranks are going to be _the best_!'

..

 **Natsu PoV**

Absentmindedly, Natsu flipped through a book, staring at Zera's prone form. 'So she's suffering from loss of blood, eh? Wonder if there's a spell for that, too…'

Sighing, he glanced at the book. "Man, I really have to have to get Igneel to teach me how to read when I find him," he complained.

Suddenly, the brunette twitched. To be exact, it was just her fingers, but it was enough to draw Natsu's attention.

Walking over, he crouched down next to her. Prodding her gently, he thought frantically, 'Mavis said this'll take a few days, what the heck?'

Suddenly, Zera jerked her eyes open, and took in her surroundings. Noticing the unruly mop of pink hair, she shouted, "Pervert!" and karate-chopped the unknown person on the head.

Stumbling backwards, he rubbed his head, groaning. Mavis appeared by the door, panting slightly.

"What's wrong? Whose voice was tha-" She froze, sporting Zera. "Wha- How-" she sputtered. "How are you awake, Zera?"

Tilting her head, she shrugged. "Dunno. Just felt something poking me, and I woke up and saw Pinkie here."

"Hey, your fingers were twitching, so I poked you only to see if you were really awake!" Natsu declared, raising his hands.

Mavis rubbed her forehead, sighing, and Zera and Natsu crossed their arms, all of them feel in thought.

"Wait, do you even know what happened, Zera?" Mavis asked. " _After_ the attack," she added remorsefully.

Sighing, the brunette hung her head. "No, the first thing I remember after _that_ ," her gaze shot to Natsu curiously, "was that guy poking me. "

This time, it was Natsu who responded. "You-Zera, right?-were under a blood-draining spell. Should've taken a few days to regain consciousness, but you woke up almost right after created the remedy."

Zera's jaw dropped. "What? Wait, wait. You're… you're an enemy, right? Why'd you help us? "

"What?! No, I'm not an enemy! What made you think I'm an enemy?" he yelled, waving his arms comically.

Tilting her head, she asked, "Then, how'd you get here? It was only us and them, and you certainly aren't one of us. I think I'd remember if someone had dyed their hair like that."

"It's not dyed, it's natural! And as for how I got here," he straightened up proudly. "I fell from the sky!"

Zera looked incredulously between the boy, grinning proudly, and Mavis, who shrugged defeatedly.

"Strange as it may sound, it's true…" Mavis sighed. "And I'm not sure why he helped us, he's just too nice."

Shaking her head in disbelief, she looked back at the pinkette, still grinning widely.

"Well? What do we do now?" Mavis asked. "Now that you're awake, we can start planning."

The three of them stood, deep in thought.

"Wait a minute, Pinkie's coming?!"

..

 **Yay, over. I almost finished yesterday, but… my keyboard ran out of battery, and I write this on a tablet, so it was considerably harder.**


	4. Plans

**AN: Ughh… pretty busy lately, and the Daylight Savings really messed up my schedule… Well, enjoy, and review please!**

..

 **July 8, X679**

 **Zera PoV**

"Wait, Pinkie's coming?"

This remark earned a short retort from 'Pinkie'. "It's not pink! It's _salmon_!"

Mavis was intrigued at her new friend's apparent weakness. "Oh, so your hair's a fish?"

"Wha- No!" Natsu sputtered, oblivious to her giggles. "Y-you know what I mean, Mavis!" he said, before crossing his arms and pouting.

Laughing at the exchange, Zera marveled at how at ease they looked when talking like this. 'Wow, they really get along well…'

Zera smiled widely at Mavis, and whispered softly, "Well, if he's ok in your book, he's ok in mine, Mavis-chan."

"Oh, thanks, Zera! But you didn't have to whisper, I can still hear you, you know… Say, can I call Mavis 'Mavis-chan' as well?" Natsu popped up next to them, beaming widely.

Before Zera could question this, Mavis cut in. "I'll tell you later. Now, can we _finally_ get down to business?"

As such, the first ever chronicled Fairy Tail conference convened.

After stating his part, which was 'I'll go wherever you want, I don't have any plans anyways', Natsu promptly nodded off, bored of the conversation already.

Giggling, Mavis turned and prompted Zera with her ideas. "I think we should stay here, for now. We don't have a boat, anyways. Besides, I haven't finished reading through the library yet! And there's so many sweets in that one shop back in town, you know?"

Sweat dropping at her companions' childish behaviours, she sighed. "Personally, I want revenge. But they totally destroyed us, even the adults. Maybe I can train here, at least we leave…"

"Well, what magic do you want? The library has a lot of information, so I can help." Mavis asked, with stars in her eyes.

Tapping her chin, she thought for a moment. "How about fire? Seems pretty cool, and it'll be perfect for revenge, as they burned our place down, and I'd like to return the favor."

Glancing down at the boy snoring away, she asked Mavis, "So what do we do about him?"

The blond looked her strangely. "He's coming with us. Didn't you say he was ok in your book?"

The other girl shook her head. "No, that's not what I meant. Do we just let him sleep?"

"Oh!" Mavis exclaimed, understanding presenting itself on her face. She looked warmly at the pinkette, shaking her head softly. "Nah. He's been running around all day, getting the antidote ready. Must be exhausted. Let's let him get a little rest…"

Just as she finished, Natsu yawned loudly, and stretched. Looking at the two, he asked bluntly, "Hey, how did the boring talk go? Did you decide yet?"

The brunette raised an eyebrow, and turned to her friend. "Tired, huh? 'Must be exhausted', you said. Yes, he's certainly tired, isn't he?"

Mavis flushed lightly, and protested, "Well, he really _did_ run all over the island, I know that for a fact. Add to that that he fell from the sky and probably time traveled, he really should be tired!"

Zera turned to Natsu. "Did you really do all of that? If so- wait, TIME TRAVEL!?"

Natsu ignored the last part and shook his head, saying, "Nope!" Just as Zera gained a triumphant look, he continued innocently, "I also climbed that big tree and hunted some. Want to see my catch?"

Giggling, Mavis clasped his hand in hers, and pulled him out the door happily. "Sure, Natsu-kun! Let's go!"

His cheeks now matching his face, he complied immediately. Zera followed the duo, now holding hands and blushing pink. Grinning mischievously, she tried to ignore the slight twinge of jealousy.

'After all, he's practically a stranger!'

However, another part of her brain argued, 'But he's already saved you, and seems really nice!'

'A-anyways, why should have be jealous? It's only holding hands…'

'You loooooove him…'

Apparently, Happy's voice travels through time, space, and minds.

..

 **Natsu PoV**

The blonde, despite having lost her home only earlier that day, smiled happily. In the setting sun, her face glowed, her face being illuminated a golden yellow.

For reasons beyond the pinkette, blood rushed to his face when he looked at her, walking hand-in-hand beside him.

'For my first human contact, this was pretty nice…'

Grinning brightly, he led them to a group of bushes, and spread the leaves apart. "I wasn't able to catch a lot, but this should be enough for now," he said, pointing to the stash.

There were a few rabbits, boars, and some berries. The animals were slightly darkened, but not so much as to ruin the taste.

Mavis cheered, and glomped Natsu with stars in her eyes. However, Natsu was actually really tired under his facade, despite what he claimed. Therefore, the two fell over, with Mavis's head snuggled in his chest and Natsu hugging her back.

Zera chose this moment to find them, having lagged behind a bit earlier.

Instantly, her face matched Natsu's, and she backed up, only to trip and land on her butt. "Ermm… WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?"

Wincing, he covered his ears and protested, "I fell down! Sorry, Mavis just hugged me and I fell down, nothing more!"

Giggling, Mavis rolled off of the pinkette and dusted herself off. "Anyways, Zera, look! He caught a bunch of food!" she exclaimed, pointing to the pile of said food.

Clapping her hands together, she cheered… until she thought of a question. "So, how are we going to cook it? Mavis, are there any cookbooks in the library?"

Nodding, she pulled out a cookbook from seemingly nowhere. "But first, all of these need fire…"

" **Fire Dragon's Roar**!"

..

 **Yay, Natsu reveals what's his magic! Oh, and I need a beta reader… Oh well. Hope you liked it!**


	5. Intruder

**AN: Sorry for the late updates, been busy. Plus it's Thanksgiving Break, so a lot of you probably won't see this for a while… Well, when you do, Enjoy!**

..

 **July 8, X679**

 **Mavis PoV**

" **Fire Dragon's Roar**!"

Somehow having yelled the name of his spell with flames bursting from his mouth, Natsu grinned proudly as he observed his work. One of the boars he caught was now fresh and crisp, browning skin showing.

The two girls' jaws dropped. Mavis was the first to recover, smiling widely and eyes sparkling.

"That. was. awesome! Ooh, what else can you do?" she asked, clasping her hands excitedly. She was practically jumping up and down in excitement.

Zera blinked, and rubbed her eyes. "Is this an illusion?!" she wondered, not realizing she spoke aloud.

Natsu proudly shook his head. "Nope! This is totally real," he answered, lighting his hands aflame. "As for what I can do… I can light myself on fire! And, I'm immune to fire, duh. Ooh, I can eat fire, too!"

Giggling at the pinkette, Mavis glomped Natsu again, making sure not to knock him over again. Stars sparkling in her eyes, she chanted, "Show me! Show me! Show me!"

Grudgingly, Zera agreed. "Well… It _is_ pretty interesting… Can you show us?"

After Mavis stopped hugging him, he rubbed his hands together in anticipation. A magic circle appeared in front of him, a fiery red, before he took a deep breath. His cheeks inflated comically, and wisps of fire danced around him.

Watching in awe, a thought struck Zera. 'Maybe I can get him to teach me Fire Magic!'

Resolving to ask him later, she refocused on his spell.

As if on cue, he released his spell, yelling, " **Fire Dragon's Roar**!"

A ridiculously large amount of flames burst from his mouth, blazing to existence as a spiral of destruction.

Unfortunately for them, they were still in a forest.

"Ermm… Natsu? Can you put that out?" requested Zera, tugging on his sleeve. "You said something about eating fire, right?"

Rubbing the back of his head, he chuckled nervously. "Did I mention I can't eat my own fire? Hehe…"

At this the brunette froze. But not for long.

"WE'RE IN A FOREST! IF YOU'RE GOING TO MAKE A FIRE YOU CAN'T PUT OUT, SHOW SOME RESTRAINT!" she yelled, chasing Natsu around furiously, shaking a fist. Mavis observed the interaction quietly, giggling softly. The two of them, if you looked closely, were both smiling.

Meanwhile, a bonfire crackled in the background, completely forgotten (or ignored) by the trio.

..

Thankfully, the fire soon burnt itself out, due to the moist nature of the environment. Also, Mavis had the thought to get the food out of the way. As such, all that was left was a large clearing relatively near the library, still smoking slightly. Three children stood in front of the scene, two panting slightly and another munching on some chips salvaged from the guild ruins.

"Well, now we know where to build the house." Natsu said, half-joking.

"... I guess… But you're still not off the hook yet, mister!" Zera replied, pinching his cheek.

"You can build a house?! Cool!" squealed Mavis, eyes sparkling again.

"Do your eyes _always_ sparkle that much?"

"Yup!"

The dragonslayer shook his head exasperatedly, before his signature grin popped back again. "Well, let's head back to the library for now…"

Nodding in agreement, the two girls followed him, talking idly.

Mavis, obviously, was the one who piped up first. "Zera, what's you're special thing?"

The other girl tilted her head questioningly. "What do you mean, Mavis?"

"You know, your special thing? My eyes sparkle, and Natsu has his signature grin! What about you?" Mavis clarified as her eyes were sparkling once more, this time in anticipation.

As the brunette tapped her chin deep in thought, Natsu spoke.

"What about chasing me around? You do that quite well. Scary, but still, quite well." he suggested absentmindedly, unaware of the dark aura surrounding Zera until it was too late.

"Gaaaah!"

Mavis watched Zera chased Natsu once more, leaving a dust trail in their wake. "Guess Natsu was right on that one…" was all she said, before she chased after the two. "Hey! Wait up!"

In a few seconds, she realized they really did stop. However, it was for another reason entirely, and it wasn't good.

In front of them, a wiry man cloaked in blue chuckled darkly. "Heh, Boss sent me back for the 'weapon' and what do I find? Three brats, fooling around!"

Hunching forwards, he drew out three knives, two in his fingers of his right hand, and one in his left.

Growling, Natsu raised his hands as if he was boxing, but Mavis laid a hand on his shoulder before he could use his fires. "Wait for it…" she hissed softly. Almost immediately, she started trembling and 'crying'.

Smiling evilly, the dark mage moved forwards, laughing along the way. "Hah, you really are brats! Now shut up, and I'll bring you to Boss relatively unharmed. Otherwise… there's a reason I drew three knives… one for each of you…"

Winking imperceptibly to her friends, Mavis stopped 'crying', replacing it with sniffles.

Understanding dawned on Zera, who nodded slightly to Natsu. The boy dipped his head, before lowering his hands. While the enemy was keeping track of his arms, he shifted his stance slightly, so that it would be easier to move quicker.

All the while, the man creeped forwards slowly, cackling. Right before he got within arm's reach, he chuckled softly, muttering, "Geoffrey-sama will be pleased… won't he? Even though there's no weapon..."

Shaking his head of doubts, he proceeded onwards. Big mistake.

Ever since they came in contact, Natsu was gathering magic, although slight so as not to alert him. Now, he released it all on his fist, which was then swung towards the man.

" **Fire Dragon's Iron Fist**!"

The effect was instantaneous. Caught unawares, the recipient of the assault flew back ten... twenty… thirty feet, smashed into a particularly thick tree, and crumpled to the ground. Blood spread down his head, from a wound not visible to them.

Horrified, Natsu sped towards the downed man, seeing only glazed eyes.

"D-did I kill him?"

..

 **I'm sorry this was a bit dark at the end… Don't worry, Natsu's not a killer… Wait and see! Hope you enjoyed...**


	6. Preparation

**AN: Eh… I wonder, should I do a timeskip like I planned, or mini-scenes in key points of the timeskip? Or timeskip + flashbacks? Hmmm…**

..

 **July 8, X679**

 **Mavis PoV**

Fortunately for them, her plan had gone well. Unfortunately for the unnamed mage, the blonde had underestimated Natsu's strength.

With widened eyes, Mavis and Zera watched as the intruder flew backwards and crashed into a tree with a sickening 'thunk'. By all rights, he'd be dead if it weren't for the layer of cushioning his hood provided. Even so, whether he was alive or not was get to be confirmed.

Natsu sprinted off after the human projectile worriedly, while the two girls stood frozen in shock.

Shaking her head free of thoughts, she glanced over at Zera, to see that she had done the same. Nodding, the duo wordlessly followed Natsu, kneeling down next to the man's prone body.

Mavis checked his pulse, and breathed a sigh of relief. No matter what they did, she didn't want her newfound friend to be burdened with killing someone. Besides, if he didn't return it'd be suspicious, and Natsu probably won't be able to deal with all of them.

"He's alive," she confirmed, and the group of three flipped him over. The group of three gasped in shock, as there was a large gash on the back of his head.

What was most shocking, however, was that there appeared to be a magic circle emanating from his cloak, healing it.

Looking at the other two, the blonde asked the question all of them were wondering. "What do we do with him?"

Zera shrugged indifferently, her wish for revenge conflicting with the side of her that doesn't want to harm anyone.

Natsu rubbed his chin, thinking (for once), before slamming a fist into his palm. "We need to chase him away, right? Why don't we make a giant dragon-thingy and scare him!? It'll be AWESOME!"

With that, all of the tension dissipated, and Mavis giggled at Natsu's prevailing childishness. 'It always seems to fix things, doesn't it?'I

Clearing her throat, she replied evenly, albeit still grinning, "That's not a bad idea, actually. But I have a better idea!"

With a dangerous gleam in her eye, she revealed her master prank-er, plan! "I'll use Illusion Magic I've been practicing in secret and chase him to their boat. Then Natsu sers their boats on fire. Since they have mages, they will probably put it out, but during that time, they'll be concentrating on the fire. So, we can run away without being noticed, and they won't want to come on Tenroujima anymore! "

"Wait," Zera interrupted, raising a hand. "What do I do?"

Mavis's grin grew wider, and Natsu suddenly felt a sense of foreboding. "Do you remember, that one fireworks shop back in town?"

Soon, Zera sported a grin similar to Mavis's.

..

After the discussion, it was made clear that the man wasn't waking up any time soon, so the three had split up. Mavis had asked Natsu to collect all the sweets in the village, Zera was also in town but searching for… interesting fireworks rather than sweets. The blonde herself was looking up on how to make her illusions better, by combining several methods and styles of the magic.

"Ooh, this one looks fun! Illusions made by light distortions? This one won't be of use, it affects the mind on an individual level…"

..

 **Natsu PoV**

Meanwhile, the pinkette was walking into the burned remains of the village with his hands behind his head, grumbling.

Next to him was the brunette, grinning mischievously. The two had decided to walk together, in case there were more enemies and they were going in the same direction anyways.

"Cheer up, Pinkie! There are worse things to do than raiding a candy store, you know!"

Faint mutterings of, "It's not pink…" was heard from the boy, who had blue lines glooming over him.

Ignoring him, the brunette asked a question weighing on her mind. "Natsu, how come you hurt that guy so badly, anyways? You should've held back, that was crazy strong!"

Natsu scratched his head laughing awkwardly. "Ahh… I never met another human before, so I just used the power I usually used against Igneel…" he answered, before whispering, "or half of that, anyways…"

Zera froze in place, shocked at his power.

"Oh. Wow…"

..

 **5 Hours Later**

"Jesus, Natsu! How hard did you punch this guy?"

Mavis had returned to where they left the man five hours after splitting up. Natsu and Zera had returned to the library, both holding a bag stuffed full of their respective objectives.

They then proceeded onwards to the man they had tied up… only to see that he remained unconscious.

The two other children immediately averted their eyes, whistling nonchalantly and making Mavis sweatdrop. 'Natsu I understand, but why Zera?'

Shrugging it off, she sighed and looked down at the source of their troubles. He had completely healed now, but showed no signs of waking up.

It was getting dark, something necessary for her plan, and she did _not_ want to wait another day to terrorize- er, chase away the enemy.

Crouching down, she poked him in the cheek. "Oi, wake up! Sleepyhead!"

Groaning, he turned to the other side, still asleep. "Five more minutes, mom…"

The trio froze and looked at each other. Not ten seconds later, they were rolling on the ground, bursting with laughter.

Their fun was cut short, as the unconscious man began to stir in reaction to the noise.

"Quick! Hide!" Mavis hissed, and they did as such.

Peering out of the bush, the three observed their target.

"Wha- what happened? I remember finding some kids, but my memories a blank after that…"

Smiling deviously, the petite blonde marveled at how perfectly this fit her needs.

"Now, let the games begin…"

..

 **Hooray, the night of terror has begun !**


	7. Illusionary Midnight

**AN: Ok, first of all, I must admit that I'm not fully dedicated to writing. Each of these are about half an hour, and I never- NEVER!- revise. I usually draft it mentally. I know that sounds preposterous to some people, but I do. Sorry for not putting in more effort, but I'm merely doing this in my pastime, may I remind you. Enjoy the story!**

..

 **July 8, X679**

 **Natsu PoV**

Suddenly with a sense of dread, Natsu gulped. Shaking his head mentally, he observed the mage as said person groaned and stood up, rubbing his head.

"Where am I?" he wondered aloud again, before taking in the setting sun. Almost as if on cue, the last shreds of sunlight passed beyond the horizon. "Did I fall asleep? Shit, the boss is gonna kill me!"

As he said that, Mavis closed her eyes and started chanting softly.

" _Oh Loki, god of illusion and trickery,_

 _Aid me as I fool them for nothing but mockery,_

 _So they may never underestimate their foes,_

 _And they shall never land their blows!"_

With that, a large roar echoed around the forest, as a strange assortment of creatures emerged from the woods. Strange they may be, but that only added to their scariness. **(Tenrou's native animals back in the S-Class trials)**

Immediately, their eyes locked on the now trembling man, and began to stampede. With a squeak, he ran, instinctively heading for the ship.

Taking note of this, she made some more illusions to alter his course, making him run sideways, while she nodded to the others.

Together, they sprinted for the initial direction once their victim was out of sight.

..

Soon, they arrived at a hill near the boat. To be more accurate, Natsu did, his ridiculous stamina allowing him to carry both girls on his back. Halfway through the run, they collapsed, panting. Ignoring their protests, he had picked up both pink-cheeked girls and resumed his sprint.

"Thank… you… Natsu… However… next time…," Zera panted, before looking up.

In sync, both girls, now entirely red-faced, half-shouted, half-hissed, "Tell us before doing that! Surprised at the outburst, the pinkette stumbled backwards, tripped on a root, and started rolling down.

In. Plain.

"Oh no! **Illusion Magic: Temporary Invisibility**!" Mavis said, chanting her spell.

Unfortunately, the rolling kicked up some sand, but not enough for them to notice… yet.

"Umm… **Scenery Freeze**!"

Now, to everyone on the boat, their surroundings were the same as always. However, if they looked closely, they could see some kicked-up sand… frozen in the air.

Once Natsu stopped rolling, he started crouch-sprinting to the boat, sending a silent thanks to Mavis.

When he reached the boat, he waved back at them. He was right below the curve of the giant hull, literally under their noses. Grinning, Mavis unfroze the scenery, but kept him invisible to all but her and Zera.

Mentally, she redirected the illusionary creatures to guide the man back here, and laid back, waiting. Preparing to do the same, Zera took one last glance at the boy.

He noticed, thanks to his enhanced senses, and gave her a thumbs-up, and his signature grin.

Quickly, the brunette laid down, facing away from Mavis so the blonde wouldn't see her *cough*red*cough* face.

..

A scream pierced the air, snapping the two girls out of their daze and making them peer past the bushes.

Sure enough, the guy from before was there, leading the stampede back to the ship.

"Set off! Anchors up! We gotta go!" he yelled, hoping that the ship would be able to set off before it was destroyed. Otherwise, they'd be trapped on Tenrou.

Seeing the man slow his pace due to exhaustion, albeit slightly, she changed the pace of the illusions as well.

When the man passed by the invisible Natsu, said pinkette held his breath, making Mavis giggle at his puffed-out cheeks.

Soon, a rope lowered, and the man climbed aboard quickly, never looking back.

The 'monsters' snarled, and the boat instantly started to push off shore, but not before Mavis made a flying monster open its beak threateningly, while the blonde nodded to Zera.

The brunette set off the fireworks, which were concealed with her illusions, until it came out of the beak, making it appear to have breathed fire. Natsu also blew some flames, directing them to the foredeck.

This greatly alarmed the crewmen, who scrambled to get below the metal-covered deck. Thankfully, nothing essential for sailing was damaged, so they left without looking back.

Grumbling, the 'monsters' faded, marching back into the forest before dissipating.

Natsu made his way back to the duo, grinning widely. High-fiving Zera, he was tackled again by Mavis, and the two rolled down the hill, the second time for Natsu.

Laughing, Zera followed the two, and they began to walk back to the library.

..

Just as the clearing came into view, Mavis, who had been traveling on wobbly feet, yet unnoticed by her two companions, could not carry on.

Stumbling, she closed her eyes and began to fall. The world, to her, was shrinking, the sounds of nighttime dimming. A pain, from somewhere within her, throbbed, and the world went black.

The last words she heard was a voice filled with worry, yet filled her with warmth. As hands wrapped around her own, and her fall was halted without her knowing, a male voice resounded in her mind.

"Mavis! Mavis! Ma-"

..

 **Ya. Kudos to whoever guesses why she collapsed. Hint: She's a fricking kid who literally kept up multiple illusions for an hour. Though she has been training for a looong time… Oh well. See ya next time!**


	8. Filler Chapter

**AN: Long time no see. I'm on a road trip, but since someone requested a new chapter, I'm gonna make one, even if I get carsick! This is a filler chapter, so there's not a lot of action. Next chapter's gonna be the end of the timeskip! Enjoy!**

 **July 15, X679**

"So, Pinkie. Can ya teach me fire magic?"

After Mavis collapsed, they had brought her to their shelter and took care. Apparently, it was just magic exhaustion, so they couldn't do much apart from the basics.

And so, Mavis told Zera to learn magic in her free time, and bring her books.

That is why, currently, the two were standing at opposite ends of a clearing, Zera with her hands on her hips.

Natsu scratched his head, smiling slightly. "Well… Er… Maybe?"

Zera tilted her head questioningly, and asked, "So… Is that a yes? Just do what you can, k?"

The pink-haired boy shrugged, and began giving… instructions?

"So, take a deep breath and focus on a warm feeling! Then blow it out, and that's how I breathe fire… Honestly, it just comes naturally to me…"

"Ah…"

Comically, the brunette puffed up her cheeks, and looked like she was trying to act out the wolf from the 3 Little Piggies.

"Hahahahaha!" Natsu exclaimed, clutching his stomach as tears streamed from his eyes. "You look hilarious! Pfft! Hahaha!"

Zera looked down, her hair shadowing her eyes. "Na… tsu… You are SO dead!!"

Once again, the chase began.

 **August 2, X679**

"Mavis, Zera! The house is done!" Natsu yelled over his shoulder, wiping a trickle of sweat from his brow.

The blonde skipped up to the construction zone, eyes glimmering. "This is great, Natsu! Does this one blow up, like the last one? Collapse, like the one before? Ooh, maybe it'll get struck by lightning again!"

Zera groaned, rubbing her forehead. "Mavis… I think you're excited over the wrong things. But seriously, Natsu. Did you use honey to stick it together, this time? You still have the bear marks…"

The boy wiped a fake tear from his eyes as he responded, "No, I built this one correctly! I swear!"

"Oh, phooey…" Mavis slumped, pouting. But, soon she perked up again. "But that's what you said the last six times! Maybe something'll happen again!"

Natsu and Zera exchanged a glance, and sighed.

 **December 29, X679**

It was snowing.

The trio was currently huddled in the shelter, hiding from the cold. Well, one of them was...

"Brrr… Winter really is cold, even for a tropical island…" Zera hissed, shivering as her breath misted in front of her.

Natsu seemed to find this funny, as he gleefully pointed this out. "Look, Zera! Even if you don't breathe fire, you can breathe ice!"

Mavis nodded rapidly. "Yeah! Maybe you can freeze your arms, too? But everyone can eat snow…"

The brunette glared at the two, and snapped, "How the heck are you two not cold?"

Mavis waved her finger in front of her disapprovingly. "No saying 'heck'! Oh, and I'm not cold since I'm used to it, somewhat. That, and Natsu's so waaaarm!!"

With that, she snuggled deeper into the mage's side, who blushed lightly.

Said person turned to Zera, and shrugged. "I've never felt hot or cold, as far as I remember, apart from other people. Dunno why."

Zera sighed, before scooting over besides him. "Open up, I need warmth too."

Instantly, Natsu turned blushed even further. "Wh-wha?"

"You don't have a problem with Mavis," Zera said, motioning towards the blonde, "so I don't see why you have a problem with me."

"Tha-that's…"

"Just open up, k?"

"... Fine."

 **April 4, X680**

"Mavis, where does this go? It's green and purply…" Natsu called out, holding a pot with a flower in it.

The blonde's head popped out from behind another plant, this one much larger. "Oh, that's a purple perennial geranium! Put it in front of the house, Natsu. And thanks for helping me decorate everything!"

Natsu shrugged, and smiled widely. "No problem! So, I bet I need to put the rest of the purple per… pre… perninny german flowers there too?"

Mavis giggled, and the tomato plant shook alongside her. "It's a perennial geranium, Natsu! But yes, thank you! You're the best!"

Embarrassed, Natsu turned slightly pink as he laughed with her. "Oh yeah, where's Zera?"

Mavis shrugged. "She said something caught her eye in the library, so… In the library?"

 **September 13, X680**

"Alright! I got it, Natsu, Mavis!"

Immediately, the brunette came bounding out of the library, grinning widely. Instantly, Mavis and Natsu's jaws dropped.

Confused, Zera looked around. "What? What is it?"

"You- you called him/me Natsu…" the two said at the same time, still shocked.

"Wha- I can call him that!" Zera shouted, indignant. "Anyways, I learned two magics!"

At that, Mavis and Natsu perked up. "Awesome! What'd ya learn?" the dragonslayer cheered.

Mavis nodded rapidly in agreement, stars in her eyes.

Zera puffed out her chest with pride and focused. A magic circle cropped up, and fire flared out of it.

Mavis clapped her hands excitedly, and Natsu jumped towards the flames, licking his lips.

Reaching forwards, he grabbed handful of the red-and-orange substance, and put it to his mouth. "Man, these flames are great! You make great fires, Zera!"

The brunette blushed, unsure of whether to take that as a compliment or insult. She decided it was the former.

"So," Mavis piped up, eyes still glimmering, "What's the second magic?"

Smirking, Zera stuck her hand to one side and closed her eyes, eyebrows furrowing in concentration.

" **ReQuip**!"

With a bright flash, a leather-bound book appeared in her outstretched hand. The title read 'Learn ReQuip Magic, Today!'

"Wow, that's awesome, Zera." exclaimed Natsu. "So, what can you carry?"

The brunette shrugged, as it disappeared in another flash of light. "Dunno. Haven't tested it out yet."

Mavis crossed her arms proudly, before pointing towards the sky (Fairy Tail symbol. Ya know, the one in Fantasia Parade?), and cheered.

"Geoffrey-baka, or whatever his name is, and his guild better watch out! We're coming for ya!"

Natsu sweat-dropped at her overenthusiastic attitude, and tapped her shoulder. "I'm always up for a fight, but what magic can you do, apart from illusions?"

Mavis froze in place for a moment, before slumping down, an aura of gloom above her.

"Errr… right…"

 **Sorry if this was shitty, it's a filler chapter, and I wrote while carsick. Ya… Hope you enjoyed?**


	9. X686

**AN: At the pace I was going, I was gonna have a** _ **lot**_ **of fillers. So I just decided to skip right to the day they leave the island, k? Also, Mavis learned Holy Magic during that time, nothing important happened then.**

..

 **January 17, X686**

 **No PoV**

Three men trudged through the forest, carrying various brown packs.

"Maaan, this is so _boring_! Where's the treasure and stuff?" the one in a jacket complained, hands behind his head. The man with a trench coat rolled his eyes, to which the other blond pointed at him accusingly. "I saw that! Why are you doing that? Is it so wrong to complain, when we've been in the forest for ages?!"

The man second man sighed, and responded calmly, "It isn't. However, it _is_ a problem when you're acting like a child when we've only been here half an hour. Isn't that right, Warrod?"

Mutely, the raven-haired man nodded as he glanced at the handheld timepiece. Then, he resumed examining the map, and murmured, "To the right, Precht. North-northeast, then walk without changing directions for about another half hour."

Nodding, Precht turned back to the first man. "Hear that, Yuri? Halfway there, so shut your mouth."

"Wha- Is _that_ any way to talk to your teammate?!" Yuri exclaimed, clutching his chest in mock hurt, before running off. "Anyways, I'm going on ahead!"

"Wait, there might be…" Warrod exclaimed, reaching after his quickly disappearing form. "...traps…"

Shaking his head, Precht sighed.

..

 **Natsu PoV**

Over the years, the three had grown a farm, which made for a steady influx of food. It also made for great snacks, and an easy way to get herbs necessary for potions.

Currently, they were tending to said farm, when Natsu's head shot up. Nose sniffing the air, he frowned.

"Guys, someone's on this island." he warned, before pausing for a moment. "Three of them, and their not Blue Skull."

Zera and Mavis quickly changed their expressions to match Natsu's, but none of the three held any fear. "Alright. How far away are they?"

"About thirty minutes, I think" Natsu said, getting to his feet. "Wait, one of them sped up. He'll be here in ten."

Nodding, the two got to their feet as well. Zera spoke up, grinning. "So, who's gonna greet them?"

Immediately, all three of their hands shot up.

"I can fight well!" Natsu exclaimed, lighting his hands on fire as if to demonstrate it.

"But so can we! You both are too childish anyways!" Zera said, smirking.

"Ehh… But I wanted to go!" Mavis cried, pouting.

"You just proved her point." the other two deadpanned, before pointing at each other and yelling, "Jinx! Double jinx! Tri-"

"Hey, how about we do rock-paper-scissors?" Mavis suggested, cutting in.

The two glanced at her cautiously, before nodding.

..

"That was easy!" Mavis exclaimed, smiling widely as she walked with her hands behind her head. With her strategic mind, capable of winning wars, a small game like that was no problem.

She was currently pacing from the library back to the garden, acting as if she were busy, whereas her two friends were now hiding in the library, just in case.

In the distance, a blond man was running towards the two structures, but she acted as if she hadn't noticed him, opting to pull out a radish that was stuck in the dirt for the past few days.

"Hey!"

It was too quiet, so she ignored the call, for now.

"HEY!"

'Startled', she spun around to the source of the sound. "Who are you?" she asked, getting to her feet. Silently, she cast an illusion. It had no effect yet, but it was just another precaution.

"That's what _I_ should be asking _you_. Little girl, this island was supposed to be uninhabited!" the blond man exclaimed, waving his arms dramatically.

She only shrugged in response. "Is it? Well, unless I'm just your imagination, I'm pretty sure it isn't."

The man scratched his head in thought. "Hmm… I guess you're right… Oh well, what's your name?"

Mavis tilted her head. "I haven't been out of this island for a long time, but isn't it common courtesy to tell someone your name before asking for theirs?"

"Err… Right…" The man seemed to be taken aback by her attitude, but answered nonetheless. "My name's Rai, Rai Dreyar. So, what's your name?"

'He's lying!'

Nodding in acceptance, she replied smoothly, "My name is Amaya Jin. Again, why are you here?"

He hesitated, but decided that, even if she was hostile, she wouldn't be able to do much. "I'm here for the Tenrou Jade…"

"Oh, that? I know where it is, but why should I give it to you?" she asked, lying again. After poring through various texts when Natsu found a empty shrine in the middle of the island, she realized that Blue Skull had taken it.

'Rai' seemed to think for a minute, before grinning. "How about we play a game of truths? The game goes like this…"

..

In their hiding spot, Natsu perked up again. "The other two are coming faster than I thought. We need to buy more time for Mavis."

Zera smiled widely, and nodded. "So, we do it by engaging them ourselves?"

"Mhm."

"Well then, what are we waiting for?"

..

After hearing the rules, Mavis agreed, and asked for a trial run as she brought him into the library.

"Okay, we can have a trial run. How about I go first?" the blond man said, smiling.

Mavis shrugged, not replying.

"So… You are in your teens."

"Correct. You are in your twenties."

"False. I'm a teen as well, little girl."

The game ended, and Mavis pretended to be downcast as Yuri cast a 'Judgement Field' around them.

Noticing this, Yuri tried to comfort her awkwardly, as he wasn't exactly playing fair. "Umm… Don't be sad, it was only a dry run, right? So…"

Mavis stood up confidently, and wiped away her 'tears'. "Alright! I'm gonna win this in the first round!"

"Wha… Umm… You realize, due to the Judgement Field, you lose if you don't, right?" he asked, taken aback.

The young girl responded with a bright smile, and nodded happily. "Yup!"

"O… K… Well, let's begin!"

..

 **Hooray!**


	10. Apologies

**Note: I am posting this on all my unfinished stories.**

 **My sincere apologies for the long delay. Unfortunately for those who've hoped for a future update, I've grown unmotivated to write fanfiction (in case you couldn't tell). While this may be irresponsible, I also believe leaving any hopefuls hanging is also irresponsible.**

 **As such, here is my formal statement: I am dropping all my stories and putting them up for adoption.**

 **If anyone adopts a story, please PM me, and I will notify the readers. If you have any difficulty in writing the story, know that I am willing to extend a helping hand.**

 **Thank you for reading this, and sorry.**

 **~DeltaWing13**


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